VCU and Richmond: Growing Together?

VPM | By Rich Meagher

Published May 13, 2026 at 5:02 PM EDT

Virginia Commonwealth University is Richmond’s urban university. But it’s sometimes hard to know where Richmond ends and VCU begins. How does VCU grow and thrive while the city does the same? Can Richmond and VCU… grow together?

Featuring:
Max Wasserman, RVA’s Got Issues Producer
Andrew Kerley, outgoing Executive Editor of the Commonwealth Times

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About RVA’s Got Issues

VPM’s award-winning podcast exploring the politics and big issues in the news that are defining life in and around Richmond, Virginia.

Hosted by Rich Meagher, Professor of Political Science at Randolph-Macon College, this weekly show tackles everything from housing and public transportation to education policy and local government transparency.

Each episode features expert guests who provide insights into Richmond’s biggest issues while offering actionable solutions for community engagement. Whether you’re curious about City Council decisions, school board policies, or how to get involved in local politics, RVA’s Got Issues delivers the knowledge you need.

New episodes every Wednesday — available on all major podcast platforms.

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Rich Meagher

Richard J. Meagher [pronounced MARR] is Professor of Political Science, Director of Social Entrepreneurship at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and the host of RVA's Got Issues.

Meagher is an expert observer of local and state politics in Richmond and has been featured everywhere from print to television to radio. He is a political analyst for WRIC 8 News, and his commentary and opinion have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and his own RVAPolitics site.

He is also a Faculty Fellow for Brandeis University’s Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation (ENACT), a national program engaging undergraduates in state-level legislative change. Meagher's 2020 book, Local Politics Matters, argues for the importance of participation in city and county politics.

In 2023, he launched the Virginia Amendments Project, a resource for scholars and citizens about amendments to the Constitution of Virginia.

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